Barcelona's remaining summer transfer budget revealed as Xavi refuses to give up hope on signing Manchester City star - Reports
Barcelona have around €57 million left of their total transfer budget in the current window, according to Spanish outlet Marca (h/t 90min).
Barca chiefs decided on a €200 million transfer kitty for this summer, of which they have already spent €148 million on incomings. Manager Xavi Hernandez has dipped into the club's coffers to sign Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde, and Raphinha.
Meanwhile, Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie arrived as free transfers. The €5m sale of Ferran Jutgla has defrayed some of the expenses, albeit to a diminutive extent.
Their finances could be further boosted by the potential sales of Memphis Depay and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The two strikers are surplus to requirements at Camp Nou and have been linked with Manchester United and Chelsea, respectively.
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Frenkie de Jong, Samuel Umtiti, and Sergino Dest are three more names on the list of seven players Barca want to offload this summer. It would come as a surprise to many that Barcelona are still not done in the transfer market despite their well-documented financial troubles.
The Blaugrana needed the activation of four economic levers to register all of their new signings this month. However, Xavi is still in the hunt to sign Manchester City's Bernardo Silva before the transfer window deadline on September 1.
He said recently (h/t the Mirror):
"You never lose hope, but it's difficult. It's complicated. We're only a few days away. We must have players leaving too."
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have also shown interest in the Portugal international, but City rejected their £59 million offer earlier this week.
Barcelona still interested in signing Chelsea star
According to the aforementioned report (90min), Barcelona are still keen on signing Chelsea left-back Marcos Alonso this summer.
The Spain international has fallen down the pecking order after the arrival of Marc Cucurella from Brighton & Hove Albion for a fee of £50 million. Manager Thomas Tuchel is yet to hand out a single minute of Premier League action to Alonso this month.
Barca are also in need of signing a left-back that could provide competition for 33-year-old Jordi Alba down the left flank of their defense. This has apparently irked Alba, who is insecure about another left-back arriving at Camp Nou just before the FIFA World Cup in November.
The former Fiorentina left-back is in the final year of his contract at Stamford Bridge. As a result, the 31-year-old, who is considered expendable by Tuchel, may not cost Barca a lot in transfer fees.